Extra 1 – Follow-up | “I’ll take you home.”

Lin Mu packed up the miscellaneous things in the house that Qin Chuan had brought back, and got ready to directly move to the Great Wilderness.

While he cleaned up the attic, Di Wu and the rest were occasionally holding him back, then, they were was chased to the side by the little Ginseng who was also going to follow them to the Great Wilderness.

“Don’t give Lin Mu trouble!” The little Ginseng said, with his hands on his hips.

“It’s okay.” Lin Mu patted the little Ginseng’s head, and smoothly and skilfully sorted through the things.

Di Wu picked up a book that had just been placed into a box and said, “this book seems like it’s been here for a long time.”

Lin Mu looked over, “they’re all things from my childhood.”

His mother wasn’t willing to throw anything away, and even after he had thrown some away, his mother would pick the book up from the trash can, clean it up, and put it away properly.

Lin Mu looked at that book and recalled, then said, “when I was a kid, I liked to draw all sorts of things, so my mother just collected them and bound them into a booklet.”

“Using her words, traces of growing up should be kept for my future self and family.”

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Lin Mu said until this point and paused, silently looked at the pack of unfinished crayons, and after a long while, suddenly said, “in fact, it was probably left for my father.”

Di Xiu sat quietly in the corner of the attic, and was also helping to organise some things.

His actions show unfamiliarity, but he wasn’t like Di Wu, who was just causing trouble, and was just slightly slower.

He heard Lin Mu’s words, looked up, frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything.

These things were indeed for him to see.

Di Xiu had long realised that — Lin Xueji had always believed that he hadn’t died.

Di Xiu remembered that Lin Xueji had once told him that photos were a magic treasure that could trap time.

So were words.

Which was why she loved to take photos, loved to write in her diary, and secretly stored her time so that she could read it in the future.

She also liked to let her thoughts and feelings out.

If she liked it, then she liked it. If she hated it, then she hated it. If she loved it, then she loved it. She had always been straightforward and bright, just like the summer sun, blazing and unstoppable.

Only, after having Lin Mu, Lin Xueji stopped writing a diary because she was worried about exposing Lin Mu’s existence.

So she took more photos.

The entire attic was filled with cardboard boxes, and within these cardboard boxes held Lin Mu’s and Lin Xueji’s time.

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Lin Xueji didn’t write a diary herself, so she coaxed Lin Mu into writing one.

Even if Lin Mu didn’t like taking photos, he would still unhappily pout and let his mother take a few albums worth of photographs.

Simply open a cardboard box, and it would be filled with albums, little books filled with all kinds of stories, and Lin Mu’s childhood toys.

Some looked good, and those were bought. Some were ugly, and they were made by Lin Mu and Lin Xueji together.

Afterwards, those little toys looked better and better.

The things in this dry, dim, and crowded attic, if they were pieced together, one could see the full 18 years before Lin Xueji’s death.

But Di Xiu couldn’t muster up the courage to completely flip through the contents in the attic.

He knew that these things weren’t entirely for Lin Mu to be able to look back in the future.

Half of it — in fact, even more than half, was probably prepared for him by Lin Xueji.

Then he whispered, “but he’s right.”

She believed that he didn’t die.

If he wasn’t dead, then he would return.

Perhaps it would be a few years, perhaps it would be tens of years, and maybe even after Lin Mu became old, he still wouldn’t appear.

But she still recorded it all.

She wanted to tell him her thoughts, her life, and everything that she had experienced.

Even if she was dead, she still held onto the hope, and wanted to grab the tiniest bit of water from the river of time, quietly collect it, and wait for a phantom that she didn’t know when would return, then give it to him to see.

Every time he thought about what kind of thoughts Lin Xueji had when she kept these things, he felt extremely timid.

So timid that even after he had returned for so long, he had never dared to open these dust-covered times.

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Di Wu clicked his tongue, and just as he wanted to say something, Qin Chuan wrapped around him.

Qin Chuan’s whole entire Dragon Vein was filled with joy, “then I’ll stay together with Di Wu!”

Lin Mu answered Di Wu’s call, and was just planning to ask about Di Wu’s safety, when he heard what Di Wu said, “Big nephew, we’re missing someone for mahjong. You want to come over? We’re in the heart of Qingyao Mountains main peak, near the passageway.”

Lin Mu paused, and looked at Yan Gui who was fighting, and hesitatingly asked, “playing mahjong?”

There were the clattering sounds of tiles being shuffled from Di Wu’s side as he lazily said, “yeah, bring something to eat and drink too. Waiting for you.”

After speaking, he hung up the phone

Di Wu couldn’t understand this point at all.

He looked at the booklet which was somewhat roughly bound together, and simply opened it–

Then, he made a slight sound of surprise, “Di Xiu, isn’t this you?”

Both Lin Mu and Di Xiu heard his words and froze, then stood up to glance at the page that Di Wu had flipped to.

There was a tree drawn on that page.

A large green tree, with green branches stretching out in five directions. Above the tree was a fiery sun and blue clouds, and there were two stick men, one big and one small, under the tree.

It was drawn with crayons, and the strokes were quite immature. Beside it, the name of the picture was also written down in a serious manner: <Big Tree Father>.

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Di Xiu looked at the photo in a daze and Lin Mu also froze for a long time, then scratched his head and said, “I don’t remember when I drew this.”

There were too many things that happened when he was a kid, and most of the things that left the deepest impression on Lin Mu weren’t pleasant experiences.

“But when I was a kid, I like drawing as it was much more fun compared to writing.” Lin Mu said, then turned his head to continue packing.

Di Wu flipped through the album, supported his cheeks, and speculated, “it should be some sort of psychic dream? Lin Mu should have dreamt of you.”

Di Xiu slowly returned to his senses and nodded.

Psychic dreams weren’t particularly unusual things, and young monsters in their infancy could occasionally dream of some fuzzy fragmented pictures, which usually came from their blood lineage.

Di Wu glanced at Di Xiu, and simply shoved it to him, “look at it yourself, I’m going to the mountains to help.”

Di Wu and Qin Chuan had promised the mountain god that they would help him cultivate the mountain. Therefore, for the time being, it was necessary for them to stay in the Central Plains. Besides, Di Wu was full of karma and the risk he faced by staying the in the Central Plains was much lesser compared to the Great Wilderness.

Di Xiu watched as Di Wu left, looked down at the album in his head and gently rubbed it. He heard the sound of Lin Mu pulling some tape, then he raised his head and said, “let’s bring your mother along.”

Lin Mu cut the tape off, sealed then carton, and said without raising his head, “of course.”

The father and son pair packed up all the scattered things in the house, then passed the house to Yan Xuanjing, who was helping out in the mountains.

“Let’s go to the cemetery.” Lin Mu said

Yan Xuanjing glanced at Di Xiu, who was in such a daze that he looked like he was sleepwalking, and simply chose to follow Lin Mu.

Di Xiu sat on the shotgun seat in a daze, and in his hand was the album that they had taken out before.

“It’s okay.” Qin Chuan search and rummage, and pulled out a pack of poker cards and box of mahjong. He said, “it’s not a big deal, at most I’ll stay here a couple of years to help grow your mountains back.”

The mountain god heard his words, lifted his eyes, and sighed sadly.

Di Xiu thought about it and said, “Di Wu will stay behind to help you fix the mountain.”

Di Wu, who was opening the mahjong box, wasn’t willing to accept it, “why?!””Because this is your fault.” Di Xiu said, “in any case, you can’t follow us back to the Great Wilderness in your current state.”

At the cemetery, Di Xiu went out of the car first.

if you see this, this version is scrambled version.

Lin Mu paid for it and pulled Yan Xuanjing, and the two of them stayed at the management office at the entrance.

The cat in the management office was still as sticky, and went up to Lin Mu to nuzzle and sit at his feet, with his tail hooked around Lin Mu’s ankle, meowing in coquettish manner.

Lin Mu simply sat on the steps, and pet the cat as he told his clients that he wouldn’t be working with plants anymore.

The sub-district office already knew that he was going to leave, and didn’t say much, and just unhesitatingly deducted his salary for the month.

Yan Xuanjing stood at the side, looked down towards Lin Mu who was petting a cat, and then glanced at Di Xiu in the cemetery.

This time was different compared to the last time they came to the cemetery.

This time, Di Xiu wasn’t a phantom image, but in his solid human form.

He stood there, looking extremely helpless in the autumn sun.

Lin Mu stopped tapping on his phone and looked up towards the graveyard.

Di Xiu had already squatted down and was looking at the picture on the tombstone, but hadn’t said anything.

“He still doesn’t dare to say anything.” Lin Mu had excellent eyesight, and looked at his father who was staring at the tombstone in the cemetery, and sighed, “coward.”

Yan Xuanjing took back his line of sight, raised his hand to pick up the cat rolling in Lin Mu’s arms, and tossed it aside.

“Last time, he didn’t say anything.” Lin Mu slightly turned his head, “I guess that after I left, he didn’t say anything.”

“Say what?” Yan Xuanjing was a little confused about Lin Mu’s words, “there is no soul in that grave, and no matter what you say, there’s no way it can be sent.”

“It’s not about sending it.” Lin Mu reached out to pull Yan Xuanjing’s sleeve, and dragged him down to sit, and said again, “things like tombstones, they’re there to give the living a place to reminisce.”

Many people have many things that they couldn’t tell the living, but in front of the dead, they would be able to say a lot.

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Complaints, thoughts, hatred, malice, joy……

The dead were always able to accept everything silently.

“Dad should have a lot of things he wants to say to Mum.” Lin Mu clenched his hands into a fist and supported his face with it, squinted slighting at the autumn sunset, “don’t say it, but I think it’s probably because he hasn’t really let go of Mum’s death.”

Yan Xuanjing heard his words, looked up towards Di Xiu who was in the cemetery, and couldn’t quite understand this feeling.

Lin Mu looked at Yan Xuanjing and gave a light sigh.

He could understand.

Of course, Dad couldn’t let go of Mum’s death.

——Because his mother had always hoped, and left because she could even know the answer.

If it was an accident, if it was the natural end of life, if it was a completely predictable death, then as a monster that often faces death, of course it would be easy for them to accept it.

Just like the little monster who had accepted his brother’s death before.

But this wasn’t the case with his mother’s death.

She was waiting, looking forward with hope.

She carefully left behind the time that Di Xiu hadn’t participated in, and was waiting for him to return to give him a surprised.

But before she could wait, her life had withered away.

Just like what Lin Mu said when he found out Di Xiu was alive–

“You came back so late,” Lin Mu had said then, “too late.”

Di Xiu had rummaged through the study, fumbled through the things in the attic, glanced at the traces of time with satisfaction, but never had the courage to put it all together and embrace it.

Once he completely accepted these things, the reality of Lin Xueji dying while waiting for a long time would overwhelm him, and he wouldn’t be able to avoid it even if he wanted.

“Coward,” Lin Mu said again, kneaded Yan Xuanjing’s hand, and said in a tone filled with experience, “still experienced too little!”

Yan Xuanjing glanced over, held Lin Mu’s hand back, interlaced their fingers and reminded, “according to the years he gained spiritual awareness, Di Xiu is about three or four thousand years old.”

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“But the years he had in contact with the outside world is just slightly more than me.” Lin Mu counted then nodded, “actually, it’s even shorter than me. After all, Dad has been locked up for so many years, and those years don’t count.”

An old monster who had lived for three or four thousand years would not be trapped by this emotion, Lin Mu thought.

Fearing the responsibility and the guilt, and thus he would continue to run away. This wasn’t something a mature man would do.

Di Xiu who was squatting in front of the tombstone sighed softly.

— Lin Mu didn’t keep his voice down, and after his original body had been restored, this power had risen greatly, and he had completely heard what the two younger generations had said.

“…… Been looked down by our son.” Di Xiu looked at the tombstone and gave a low sigh.

Then he whispered, “but he’s right.”

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After Di Xiu said that, he stayed in a daze for quite a while, and after some time, he whispered again, “that time, it was very painful. But I endured it, and didn’t die.”

“But I couldn’t escape.” Di Xiu whispered, “however, I’m a lot luckier than Di Wu he still has to stay in the Central Plains to avoid the karma.”

I’m luckier than Qin Chuan, luckier than the Shen, luckier than Nie Shen.

Di Xiu thought, and said, “luckier than Yan Gui.”

Yan Gui chased his wife for four hundred years, how could that be considered luckier that him?

“I’m very lucky.” He said, and showed a small smile, “it would be better if you were alive.”

A pity.

Most things in life were unsatisfactory.

“I still want to thank you for believing in me.”

But until the end, Lin Xueji wasn’t able to wait for him.

Di Xiu fell silent again.

After looking at the photo on the tombstone for a long time, he finally took out the key that Lin Mu had given him, opened the small pedestal under the tombstone, and took out the ashes inside.

“I remember you said you wanted to see what the Great Wilderness looked like.”

Di Xiu carefully wiped the box, and gently tapped its surface with his fingertips.

“I’ll take you home.”

The author has this to say:

I suddenly felt that this chapter was quite suitable for being the end of the main text.

Never mind, it’s all the same _(: 3∠)_